


I'll Make It Up To You

by synstruck



Series: our regrets and our atonement [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Age Difference, Age Swap, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mild Angst, Older Eren Yeager, Slow Build, Younger Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-01-13 07:10:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1217188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synstruck/pseuds/synstruck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, in another life, he failed somebody important to him.<br/>Once upon a time, in another life, he died.</p><p>Eren Jäger, age 34, lived a life as monotone as his dreams were vivid-- until he glimpses a face he could and would recognise anywhere, death and decades of a fresh new life <i>be damned.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. where in the world are you now?

_If,_  
_again,_  
_We have the chance to meet,_  
_there is so much I want to ask,_ _  
_ _and so much I want to tell._

* * *

The weight of Levi's guilt and reluctance weighs heavy upon Eren's shoulders; even without needing to turn around to look at him, Eren can feel the pain and reluctance coming off Levi in waves. Eren knows exactly what plagues Levi, knows exactly what is hurting him, and it aches terribly that nothing Eren can do or say would help to ease Levi's anguish in any way.

No matter how many times Eren tries to reassure his Captain that this was for the best, no matter how many times Eren stresses to him that this path is Eren's own choice... Eren knows that Levi will still blame himself for how things have played out in the end.

Eren has done all that he possibly can.

And after all that he has pledged and bled and fought for in the name of the military and of the crown over the years of his service, they do not even see fit to allow him the dignity of walking himself freely to his own execution unbound and unchained.

Is it not clear by now where his loyalties lie?

Is it not clear by now that he will not run?

Is it not?

Is it not?

_Is it not?_

The afternoon is warm as a soldier leads him gently by the arm out into the courtyard, despite the drizzle of rain earlier in the day. The chains shackled around his wrists clank behind him, but his handler's grip on his bicep is loose and somewhat comforting. His eyes fall shut as Generalissimo Zacklay addresses the audience present and opens with the necessary formalities that precede his execution-- Eren doesn't care enough to listen to any of it. Eren doesn’t _want_ to listen to any of it. It matters nothing to him in the end.

A light spring breeze ruffles his hair as he inhales deeply. The smell of damp earth fills his nostrils as he turns his face up to the sky, letting it warm his cheeks and feeling the heat of the early afternoon sun sink into his shoulders through the heavy fabric of his jacket.

Zacklay’s voice drones on.

The murmurs of the crowd begin to get louder the longer Zacklay speaks. The people were getting restless, no doubt. Probably eager to see the last remaining titan be put to death.

Eren bites back a sigh as Zacklay raises the volume of his voice, listening as the Generalissimo finally, __finally__ wraps up his speech. The soldier holding on to his arm squeezes it briefly― a well-meaning gesture of comfort to a comrade undeserving of the fate that has been dealt to him― before stepping away.

It is time, then.

He has long made peace with his swiftly impending death, having known a few years ago that there was no possible other alternative to any of this. Despite that, the thought, the notion, the promise of dying― though he faces it willingly― sends a chilly wave of fear down his spine.

The crowd silences abruptly, and Eren hears behind him the whisper of the heavy fabric of a military-issue jacket. The click of a blade slotting into its handle. The muted woody scrape of the blade as it is drawn from the holder.

“I’m sorry, Eren.” Levi’s voice is soft from where he stands behind Eren, the restless buzz of the gathered crowd dampening it even further.

Eren chooses not to answer aloud. Had his arms been unbound, he would have saluted. Instead, he sinks silently to his knees the best he could without the use of his hands, bowing his head forwards to expose the nape of his neck over the high collar of his uniform jacket.

The breath Levi inhales is slow and shaky.

Eren's heart skips, hurting.

His heartbeat drums deafeningly in his ears.

If he was told nine years ago that this is how Eren Yeager is going to die, that this is how his military career will end... well. He may have laughed, or he may have asked if his mother put you up to the task.

His mind, catching on the thought of his mother, drifts to her and her disapproval over his passionate military ambitions and he smiles, bittersweet, at the memory of her. At the memory of the short, sweet years he has spent with Mikasa and Armin in Shiganshina. Of the harder years they have weathered in Trost. Of his time with the 104th Squad and with both the Special Operations Squads. Of serving under his Captain Levi. Drifts back to every single choice and action that have come together to bring him here, kneeling in chains in the castle courtyard awaiting his voluntary death by the hand of the man he trusts the most.

These were choices he has made with zero regrets... save his inability to spare his Captain the task of putting him down― despite all that Levi had done to prevent this outcome, to spare Levi the guilt of executing a long-time team member, subordinate, and friend― for no reason save that of soothing the fears of the nobles regarding his loyalty.

For no reason save to make him an example. A symbol.

Even if it originally has been Levi’s responsibility to kill Eren when the suitable time came, Eren still wishes that he doesn't have to put his Captain through it.

It was so cliche, Eren muses to himself with a quiet chuckle, that my life flashes before my eyes as I die.

The blade whistles behind him.

_Shhhhk!_

Stinging,

       burning

               pain in the back of his neck.

He pitches forward at the impact.

His world goes black before his face even hits the dirt.

 

 

* * *

 

Eren jolted upright as he abruptly woke, breathing hard.

The burning sensation that had been slicing across the back of his neck faded quickly as he gasped for breath, a line of icy chill settling under his skin in its place. It took him a few moments to reorient himself in the darkness of his bedroom, but soon his galloping heart and gasping pants calmed.

It had been a long while since he’d last dreamt of his death, and while he’d dreamed of his past all his life, it never made it any easier to jolt awake from a memory like that.

He exhaled loudly, slumping back against his pillows as he glanced over at the clock on his nightstand.

04:28.

A tired sigh and the drag of his palm over his face. An ungodly hour to be awake at, especially on a weekday. Prior experience told him quite firmly that he wasn’t going to get any more sleep tonight, but by God was he going to try anyway. Rolling over, Eren pulled his blankets back up to his chin and closed his eyes, determined to try and get a little more shut eye before his alarm went off.

It was only two excruciating hours of restless tossing later that it became clear to Eren that his efforts were, as expected, for naught, and he finally gave up all pretense of sleep. Reluctantly tossing the covers back, Eren prepared to start his day.

Long, hard years as a working adult had more or less cemented Eren’s routine to the point that he could quite easily prepare for work half-conscious. Doing it while running on a little over four hours of sleep came far too easily for Eren’s liking. Even having moved halfway across the country had barely affected it; he was thrown off routine for maybe a week before his mornings settled back into clockwork. He barely even grimaced today at how tired his face looked in the bathroom mirror as he inspected the dark circles under his eyes.

If he spent a touch longer this morning than he usually did inspecting the rest of his face though… nobody was around to know. Nobody was around to see him tweak at his too-strong, too-long nose, thumb at eyes too droopy and too deep-set, run fingers over lips too thin and a mouth too narrow.

But after, he settled back into his routine as soon as he pulled himself away from the mirror, going through the motions of the morning as if on autopilot. Brushed his teeth mindlessly as he sat on the toilet, mechanically scrubbed himself down under the near-boiling spray of the shower. Selecting his clothing took just as little of his concentration as washing up did, his work wardrobe consisting mostly gray two-piece suits and pale colored shirts-- he could probably get dressed in absolute darkness and it would still more or less all match.

It took him a little more than half an hour to complete his morning regimen today, and by ten past seven, he had locked his front door and started trudging down the apartment staircase towards the car park.

His name was Eren Jäger, age 34, his life was as monotone as his dreams were vivid, and he sincerely doubted that it was about to change any time soon.

 


	2. i've been looking in churches and looking in bars

Eren had been transferred from his old office from halfway across the country in the middle of autumn, about two months ago. His company paid for the plane ticket there and gave him three weeks of paid leave for him to find suitable accomodation, and they reimbursed him the week and a half he'd spent at a small motel while he'd gone flat-hunting. He'd only had to pay the price of shipping his belongings out to the motel out of pocket, and after that for the deposit and downpayment for a spacious pre-furnished flat in a gated apartment complex in a suburb close to the city. Eren had sold his old car before he moved and purchased a reasonably-priced replacement shortly after arriving, not wanting to have to rely on public transport more than he had to, so moving his baggage from the motel to his new apartment wasn't too difficult.

His new office was only a ten minute drive away from his new home, maybe half an hour at maximum in bad traffic, and he was only required to clock into work at half past eight. Despite that, the man still left home by a quarter past seven every morning during the week.

The reason Eren Jaeger regularly chose to forgo nearly an entire extra hour of sleep to drive to work far too early was partly because he was incredibly picky about his coffee and couldn't make his own to save his life and partly to beat the awful inner-city traffic that came with the early morning rush of people trying to get to their workplaces early enough to clock in on time.

Mostly though, he did it because it gave him time every morning to just sit and relax with his coffee and people-watch, which he had determined that he absolutely had to do now that he was in a new place. In addition to that, if he'd woken in the night from a memory, like he did several hours before, it gave him a chance to wind down a little before he had to go in to work. Forty five to sixty minutes is a long time to nurse a thing of coffee, especially if he opted for a cold beverage, but Eren liked the freedom of being able to sink into a seat at the shop and mull over things while he enjoyed his drink and some breakfast instead of just ordering it to go and having to drink it at his desk while working.

In saying that, he _still_ had to choke down the shitty instant coffee they supplied in the office throughout the rest of the day to keep awake as he slogged through the daily tedium of his paperwork, but this habit of savoring the first cup of his gray weekdays was a habit he wasn't willing to give up. Eren's days now were so dull compared to the vibrant, dangerous life he remembered leading in the Survey Corps before his death before that he was completely willing to take what little pleasures he could manage in this one, especially when they were few and far between otherwise.

The traffic in the city today was light, just as Eren had expected of it this early in the morning. He'd pulled into the office parking lot at exactly twenty minutes past the hour, meaning he had a little over an hour to go and get his usual morning coffee and a bite to eat. He shivered at the freezing morning air as he stepped out of the warm car, winding his scarf an additional time around his neck and pulling the collar of his black wool pea coat up to cover it. As he locked his vehicle and exited the car park, the man remembered overhearing that a new coffee shop had opened on the same block as his office was located.

Eren, depending on his mood, usually frequented either the Starbucks at the far end of the block from his workplace or the café just across the street, but one of his co-workers had mentioned that this new coffee shop served pretty good drinks. He figured it wouldn't be any harm to go and check it out, to see if it lived up to the hype. Starbucks was too far for him to want to bother today, anyway, and on Mondays it was sure to be full of university students from the campus a ten minute walk north.

His decision made, he turned right at the entrance of the parking lot and strolled down the street to find this coffee shop.

It wasn't long until he found it, the shiny new fascia sign reading _New World Coffee Shop & Tea House_, the chalkboard pavement sign listing out the day's specials in a neat cursive script. The surprisingly large shop took up two street-level shop lots, and was located three lots down from his office, just across the road from the café he normally frequented. As he approached it, Eren idly entertained the thought that he'd probably buy Starbucks a lot less now that there was a closer coffee shop to his workplace.

Stepping gratefully out of the cold into the warm interior of _New World Coffee Shop & Tea House_, Eren was momentarily disheartened by the length of the line of customers snaking from the counter. There were a lot of people already in the shop considering it was barely seven twenty five on a Monday morning, which surprised the brunet. The thought that maybe the drinks were as good as he'd heard after all passed through the man's mind as he slid off his pea coat and slung it over his arm.

Joining the queue, Eren glanced around the busy shop. All but one of walls were painted in a rich, warm ochre, the last wall behind the counter in vanilla, the crown moldings and ceiling in off-white. Underfoot was a glossy wood flooring stained a dark walnut color. The wooden tables, bar stools, chairs and benches were stained in black, all the seating upholstered in plush burgundy fabric over thick cushioning, and the sofas near the counter each had a couple of throw cushions in vanilla or black set against one armrest.

The counter was the same un-glossed ebony-stained wood as the rest of the furnishing, the counter top a polished white wood. The framed menu behind it was covered in chalkboard finish, the items and prices on it painted in a neat white script. Craning his neck around the queue, Eren could make out the name of the shop spelled out on flat-cut lettering in white wood set into the front of the counter at about knee-height. On either side of the counter were glass display cabinets filled with baked goods, sweet in the left-hand unit and savory in the right. Eren's stomach grumbled in anticipation, and he turned his gaze back to the menu to try and decide what he wanted to try.

It took almost ten minutes before he reached the front of the line and it was finally his turn to order, but the time he spent in the queue honestly just slipped by him as he quietly scrutinized the other patrons of the coffee shop-- there was an old man sitting by the window who reminded him strongly of Commander Dot Pixis, a blond teenager wrapped in several layers of clothes in the corner looked like Armin and Christa at the same time, and there was an Asian woman settled in the sofa closest to the counter with a black scarf wound around her neck and her long black hair pulled into a high ponytail. Eren had lamented for a couple of minutes that she didn't look more like Mikasa, that her eyes were angled upwards at the corners a little too much, that her lips were a little too full, before the guilt set in, and he berated himself for wishing that a complete stranger was... well, _looked_ more like his sister.

Especially when he himself was far from the spitting image of his past incarnation.

It probably wasn't even her, anyway.

Stepping up to the counter as the woman before him moved away, his eyes were drawn again to the right-hand glass case as he asked the young blond barista for a caffé mocha and one of the bacon and egg sandwiches in the display. The barista's thick eyebrows furrowed when Eren gave his name, and Eren did a double-take at how vaguely familiar the youth looked. It was probably the eyebrows paired with the undercut, he told himself, dropping his gaze as he dug in his pockets for his wallet. As he absentmindedly glanced back to the Asian lady, he heard the barista make a quiet sound of confusion as he scrawled a name onto the paper cup, and Eren knew he was going to be looking at another order for an “Aaron” again.

It didn't really bother him though, and he pulled a ten out of his wallet to pay for his breakfast, pocketing the change as he stepped aside to wait by the pickup counter as the barista who served him passed the cup over to a colleague and popped Eren's sandwich into the toaster.

Less than five minutes later, Eren slid into a booth with his breakfast in hand, block capitals on the cup reading “Aaron” as he'd predicted. Sinking his behind into the plush upholstery, the brunet sighed in contentment, leaning into the backrest as he settled in. Blowing lightly at his cup, he leisurely sipped at his hot drink as he cast another cursory glance around the bustling establishment. Despite the horrific queue to order, many of the tables and booths were still empty, most of the customers opting to just get their orders to-go and leaving the shop as soon as they'd claimed it to continue on with their mornings.

Just as Eren lifted his sandwich to his mouth, his mind starting to drift to the dream he'd violently awoken to just over three hours ago, his gaze alighted upon a familiar-looking person standing in the line just a mere ten feet away from where the brunet was seated. A short man with a clean black undercut, the curtain of his bangs obscuring his eyes from view as he tapped away furiously on the screen of his phone, thin lips flattened into a severe line born of irritation.

His heart hammered furiously in his chest, his breathing screeching to a halt. He could and he would recognize that face anywhere, even though this man in the queue seemed to be even younger and smaller than he'd remembered him.

It was seven forty on a Monday morning, two months into his new life in a new city, and Eren Jaeger thought he'd seen a ghost from his past.


	3. thought i saw you in the oncoming cars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took longer than I expected, whew.  
> Well, it's up now.

It was only when his head began to swim from the lack of oxygen that Eren realized he'd been unconsciously holding his breath, and the gulp of air he took was more like a gasp than anything else. He turned his head from the disturbingly familiar man texting in the queue and stared down at the still uneaten sandwich in his hands.

Eren found that he had completely lost his appetite.

The warm sandwich that he was all but salivating to get his teeth into a little over five minutes ago now made him feel slightly nauseous. Glancing back up to the line snaking from the counter, the brunet found that the black-haired man had already placed and picked up his order, a covered paper cup cradled protectively in both hands. Eren swallowed and lifted his cup to his face as hauntingly familiar ice-gray eyes glanced his way, barely lingering on him as their owner cast his gaze around at the empty tables. The brunet found himself a little disappointed that there was no flash of recognition in the other man's eyes when they slid over him, then past him.

_Was this... was he really...?_

Eren's own stare tracked the black-haired man as he strode across the shop, sliding onto a stool at one of the bar-style tables that were set along the windows at the front of the shop. He found that he couldn't tear his eyes from that familiar back until the man shifted and as he cast what must have been a suspicious look around the shop, Eren's gaze immediately dropped down to the shaking hands clasped around his sandwich. His brows creased in determination and he took a bite, quashing the urge to look back at the familiar figure sitting in the window.

He only managed three bites of the sandwich before he started feeling ill, and dropped his breakfast back onto the plate in defeat. Sipping his drink didn't calm his nausea any, either, so Eren wrapped his sandwich in a couple of paper napkins. It was pointless to stay if he wasn't going to finish his breakfast in the next few minutes. It was pointless to stay if he felt too shaken to watch the patrons of the shop go about their mornings like he usually did.

Getting to his feet, the brunet shrugged his coat on and slid the sandwich into a pocket, picked up his drink and slunk quietly to the door, glancing briefly at the gray-eyed man in the window as he passed. He said nothing, did nothing to try and catch the other man's attention as he slipped out of the warm shop, back into the cold winter morning.

Eren wondered if he should have said anything instead. If he should have caught his attention like he desperately wanted to.

Not that it looked like he would even be able to, as the Levi-lookalike seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as he contemplated his tea. The man's fingertips were planted around the rim of the cup in a disturbingly familiar fashion as he swirled his drink absentmindedly, chin supported in his free hand as he stared blankly into the street.

Eren didn't look up as he passed the window on the way back to the office, the shiver running down his spine having nothing to do with the cold.

He was at the office a little over half an hour earlier than he needed to be. Eren was usually one of the first into the office anyway, but today he was the absolute first-- the floor was still dark, the doors still locked.

His mind racing in circles, Eren shakily unlocked the office, turning on the lights and printers and opening the blinds on autopilot. He sank into his office chair, perching his sandwich on top of the plastic drawers beside his office phone and his drink right next to it as he turned his computer on. Staring unseeingly into the screen, the man frowned and slouched even further in his seat.

Was that the right man? Was that really Captain Levi?

Did he remember Eren the way Eren remembered him?

Eren found that he couldn't focus on his work today like he usually did.

It was just after lunch when the head of the Editorial department came by his office, her eyebrows creased in worry as she took in Eren's messier-than-usual workspace and his unfocused eyes and frazzled appearance. She wasn't quiet when she approached him, and though it wasn't unusual that he wouldn't notice her coming due to his normally intense focus on his work, she observed that today he didn't notice her for a completely different reason.

“Eren. Are you not feeling well today?”

The sound of her voice startled the man staring listlessly at his computer screen, one hand set unmoving on his computer mouse, the other tapping distractedly on the pile of folders and papers on the side of his desk. Eren jerked visibly in surprise, nearly knocking over the stack of papers, before he turned slowly to face his superior. His eyes were wide with distress and the woman noted that he had curled into himself slightly as she stared down at him, a touch of guilt washing over his features at being caught slacking on his tasks.

“A-ah, yeah. Just a little bit.” The brunet reflexively ran the back of his hand over his eyes when he'd registered her question. He didn't meet her gaze, choosing instead to stare nervously at the ground between them. “Sorry, Janet. I'm just tired. Rough weekend, didn't sleep much.”

“Are you sure it's just that?” The woman looked stern as she gave him another quick once-over. “You really don't look well.”

“I think it's just exhaustion,” he confirmed with a wry smile. “I've just been having trouble sleeping at night lately, and what sleep I get hasn't been particularly restful.”

“Take the rest of the day off, Eren,” she told him firmly, folding her arms in a display that denied Eren any opposition to her instruction. His head shot up in surprise and he finally met her eyes. “If you're not feeling better tomorrow morning, just let me know and you don't have to come in.”

“Thank you, Janet,” the brunet responded tiredly, smiling wanly at the blonde woman in appreciation.

“No worries, Eren,” she nods at him as he pulled on his coat and slid his keys into the pocket. “You seriously look like hell today. Go and get some rest.”

“Will do, I'll leave a message on your machine tomorrow morning if I'm still not feeling well. Thank you.”

The lunch-time traffic rush meant that he took a little longer than usual to get home, but forty-five minutes after he left his office, Eren was locking the front door of his apartment behind him.

He knew he should probably go back to bed and get some rest, but despite his weariness, he really was too keyed up to be able to sleep. With a sigh, he moved to hang up his coat and scarf in the hall closet.

Eren stopped on his way through the living room to turn on his computer set on a desk in one corner of the room before turning to head to the kitchen. He filled the electric kettle on the counter and flicked it on before retrieving a bowl and mug from the cupboard. Grabbing a pack of instant noodles from the pantry, he emptied it into the bowl before filling the mug with cold juice from the fridge. He'd only just replaced the bottle into the fridge door and slammed it shut when the kettle whistled and coughed out a cloud of steam. Tipping hot water into the bowl, he grabbed a fork from a drawer and jabbed at the hunk of dry noodles, willing them to soften faster.

A quick, lazy lunch obtained, he returned to the living room and set the steaming bowl and cold mug on the desk by the keyboard. He sank into the chair with a sigh, taking a moment to sip at his juice before replacing it on his desk and sitting up in his seat.

Opening a browser window, Eren pulls up Facebook and logged in to his account, hesitating for just a second before plugging in Levi's name and city into the search bar. Immediately, a whole slew of results were returned to him, and while he did expect this, Eren's heart still sank at the knowledge that sifting through all the names and profiles would take a while.

He spent hours searching through all the results, but when he still came up empty-handed, a thick blanket of discouragement and defeat settled about his shoulders. It was lightened only minutely by the possibility that maybe his profile was private and thus unsearchable, but even that didn't console him much.

With a deep disappointed sigh, Eren turned his computer off and carted his now empty bowl and mug back to the kitchen. Stacking them into the corner of the sink, he puttered mindlessly around the kitchen, pulling out dishes and pans and food to make himself a simple dinner.

Three quarters of a cup of uncooked rice was thrown into the rice pot, and as Eren mechanically washed the rice and set the pot into the cooker, his mind drifted.

He'd spent years looking for people from his past with no success. His parents weren't Grisha and Carla Jaeger, not by a long shot. Their names were Luis and Jara Jaeger, and they didn't resemble his past parents in any way, whether it was in demeanor or appearance. He didn't have an adoptive sister named Mikasa Ackerman, nor did he know anyone fitting her description. There was no Armin Arlert in his life, either. Instead, he had an older brother called Leon with the same bright eyes as Eren himself who worried about his strange baby brother just as much as Mikasa did in their last lives.

In fact, when he grew old enough to understand it, he really was surprised that he'd somehow managed to look pretty close to how he used to look in his last life in regards to facial features-- though "pretty close" wasn't really that close at all, just _barely_ vaguely similar enough to not make his skin crawl with an innate sense of _wrongness_ \-- and that he was somehow lucky enough to end up with the same first name and nearly the same last name that he previously had.

It confused him, and scared him.

The gloomy mood that the thought process always brought about hung about his ears as he chopped up and tossed two handfuls of broccoli into the steamer, as he sliced and stir-fried a small pack of beef, as he plated his food and tossed the dirty pots and pans into the sink.

It persisted all through dinner, flavoring his simple meal with a mild sense of despondency.

As he scrubbed the dishes and pots in the kitchen after dinner, Eren figured that an early night would probably do him good since he didn't get any proper rest after getting home.

The shower he took after tackling the dishes didn't take him long, the man not wanting to linger under the hot water with his thoughts for longer than necessary. By 9pm, he was curled up in bed, eyes shut as he willed himself to fall asleep.

Eren jerked awake into the darkness of his bedroom what felt like moments later. Glancing over to the clock on his night stand, the man groaned in mild irritation to find he'd woken before the alarm yet again. Unwilling to move for the moment, he glared half-heartedly at the bright red numbers on the device declaring that it was currently 6:03AM, waiting for it to tick over to four minutes past before he sat up against the headboard with a weary sigh.

In truth, he thought as he inspected the dark shadows under his eyes, he really didn't feel much better today. It would probably be in his best interests to stay home and try and get some more rest, but he'd never missed a day of work before if it were avoidable.

Grunting, Eren swung his legs over the side of the bed and got to his feet, starting towards the bathroom to begin his daily morning routine. He was just passing through the bathroom door when he paused, an idea striking him.

Hurrying back to the nightstand, he pulled out his phone and dialed Janet's office phone. After a couple of rings, there was a click and her answering machine message began to play. Already expecting that, Eren waited for the beep to signal that his call was being recorded.

“Janet? Yeah hi, it's Eren. I'm still not feeling the best today so I won't be in this morning. I'll let you know before lunch if I feel well enough to come in in the afternoon.”

Hanging up, the brunet stared guiltily at his phone. He had never skipped work for personal reasons before, and definitely not like this. But... this was a very unusual, unexpected turn of events. Eren had to pursue this. He _had_ to.

Remorse gnawed at his gut as he dropped the device onto his night stand, but he set his jaw and returned to the bathroom to shower and start getting ready to leave the flat.

He rushed through his ablutions, scrubbing his teeth quickly and just taking a quick piss instead of perching on the toilet for several minutes. Today, he took far less time than usual to shower, forgoing washing his hair entirely just so he could finish faster.

Opting for more casual clothing this morning over his usual smart business attire, Eren dug around in his wardrobe for something suitable. Eventually, he ended up pulling on a comfortable long-sleeved t-shirt, a baggy gray college hoodie that had probably not seen the light of day since his student days, a pair of old blue jeans that were worn through in the knees and the sneakers he usually wore to gym on the weekends. A red scarf was then looped around his neck for good measure, and Eren took a moment to contemplate a pair of shades, but he decided that it was probably really suspect to be wearing a pair of dark glasses this early in the morning and left them in their drawer.

As he locked the front door and headed for the stairwell, he realized it would probably be suspect to park at the office when he said he won't be in, especially when he doesn't know how long he'll be. He didn't know any places in the city within walking distance of the café that didn't charge a crazy amount for him to park his car for a few hours, either. The thought made him hesitate, a hand braced against the stairwell door as he weighed his options.

After a brief pause Eren made up his mind, turning and barreling down the hall for the elevator that would take him closer to the bus stop close to the apartment complex. It would take him a little longer to get to the city, but he'd had to use the bus fairly regularly before he bought his car. If he remembered the bus schedule right, there would be a bus arriving in just under eight minutes. Restlessly shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Eren waited for the elevator to chime its arrival to the ground floor lobby, charging out the instant the doors opened.

The bus passed Eren by as he ran to the stop, his scarf sagging sadly around one shoulder as it flapped in time with his steps. He put on a last burst of speed and sprinted up to the covered benches of the bus stop just as the last passenger in the queue stepped on. The driver left the door open until he jogged up to the front of the bus and boarded, panting as he choked out his appreciation between gasps of air. As he fished out his wallet for the bus fare, Eren ferverently thanked his lucky stars that the driver had waited for him to board before shutting the doors.

The bus was fairly full, and when Eren noticed his favored seat just behind the rear door was occupied, he wilted slightly in disappointment, sliding into the empty seat behind the driver instead. As the bus pulled away from the curb, Eren wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, pulling the scarf down off his neck and dropping it into his lap as he fanned furiously at his face with the other hand.

It took close to twenty minutes for the bus to finally coast to a stop at Eren's intended destination in the city, and he disembarked from the bus at the top of the street on the opposite side of the road from his office. He barely remembered to pull the scarf back over the lower half of his face as he hopped off the bus, and for good measure, pulled his hood up over his hair as well. Tapping his feet impatiently while waiting for the light to turn green, the brunet craned his neck as he cast his eyes over the throng of people on the streets, keeping an eye out hopefully for the familiar flash of black hair. As soon as the lights changed, he jogged quickly across the street towards the coffee shop, dodging passers-by as he darted through the crowd.

Pushing the door open as he approached the establishment, Eren pulled the hood off his head as he glanced around the busy shop, stepping forward to join the painfully long queue. The kid from yesterday didn't seem to be around yet, but Eren hoped that he would turn up again today.

Could he still call that guy a kid? He wasn't even sure if the person he saw yesterday was even a kid-- wasn't the Captain in his memories around Eren's own current age? And even then he looked a lot younger than Eren did now. The Corporal's deceptively young features used to be a common conversation topic back in the barracks, along with speculations about his age.

Wouldn't Levi in this life be in his early fifties now? Eren thought that Levi's youthful face would probably have been true of this reincarnation, but even if so, how did he still look so young? Well, if that was Levi at all. The brunet frowned at the thought and clenched his teeth. There were so many uncertain variables that Eren wasn't even sure what he should be looking out for any more.

He may have ravenously consumed as much lore on reincarnation and reincarnation theories as he could, but truth be told, he didn't really trust what fiction told him to believe of reincarnation theories. He knew nothing about what to expect.

Eren himself may have lucked out in remaining fairly similar as far as appearance and name went, and he figured his personality hadn't changed much from what he remembered of his past life-- time had mellowed him out so he was a little less quick-tempered and not as mouthy as he used to be, but at his age he was still impulsive and just as focused on his goals as much as was back then.

But fiction told him that he'd be reborn with the people he knew and loved around him. Where were his parents? Where was Mikasa, where was Armin? Where was everyone he'd trained with in the 104th squad, where was everyone he'd fought alongside in the Survey Corps?

Why was he alone?

Lost in his thoughts, it wasn't long before he was at the front of the line. For a moment, Eren wasn't sure whether the line itself moved faster than it did yesterday or that he was just out of it for longer than he thought he was. Distracted and flustered by his previous train of thought, he quickly asked for a toasted ham sandwich and a brownie without looking at what was in the display cases, taking a moment to stare hard at the menu behind the counter before settling on a chocolate chai latte with whipped cream.

The barista serving him today was a pretty Asian girl with a bright smile, but as Eren gave her his name, he spotted the blond barista from yesterday morning at the coffee machine. Eren watched her pass the blond youth the plastic cup she'd written his name on as he fumbled with his wallet to pull out the money for his purchase. She waited to take his money and return his change before popping his sandwich into the toaster.

It wasn't long before the blond barista was calling his name to pick up his order, which the brunet retrieved gratefully. Sliding into the sofa next to the pickup counter, Eren glanced around the shop. Was the Levi-lookalike here yet? Was he going to come today?

A flash of black hair caught his attention as the man from yesterday stepped back into sight from behind the taller woman standing in front of him in the line. He'd only been two people behind Eren in the queue. Eren's heart lifted, and his face brightened hopefully as he eyed the man in the queue, fiddling with his phone just like he had been yesterday morning.

Grinning as he lifted his latte to his lips, the brunet leaned back in his seat to wait. It didn't take too long for the black-haired man to reach the counter himself, and Eren watched him slide his phone into the pocket of his jeans before opening his mouth to place his order.

Seated in this sofa, Eren found he was too far from the counter to hear the exchange between the black-haired man and that blond barista over the hubbub of the shop. Despite that, Eren could still imagine the low baritone of his Captain's voice as this stranger spoke. As he slowly ate his brownie, Eren watched the man drop a note and some coins onto the counter top before moving towards the pickup counter and leaning against the wall close by.

It wasn't long before one of the baristas called out an “Order for Levi!” as he slid a cup along the surface of the pickup counter. Eren's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the name, and hope filled his chest as the black-haired youth moved towards the counter to retrieve his drink.

He didn't realize he was staring until the black-haired man turned his piercing silver gaze onto him, and Eren instinctively ducked his head guiltily at the very familiar glare, hiding his face behind his chai latte.

The man's gaze lingered on Eren for only a moment before sweeping away across the empty tables.

Eren wasn't sure whether he was more relieved or disappointed that there wasn't a flash of recognition in the man's pale eyes when they passed over him, that he had sauntered right by him without so much as a glance before settling into the same bar stool he had sat in the morning before.

 _Is this the right man?_ he wondered, eyebrows knitted together as he stared at that familiar back. _Yes. Yes it is. I'd recognize that face anywhere. Even if he doesn't remember me, that's okay._

Breathing deep, Eren started to eat his sandwich, eyes still fixed on the back of Levi's head as he ate. The brunet quietly lamented his choice of seat now, because even though this seat helped in confirming Levi's name for him, it was at a horrific place for him to observe the other man.

With a sigh, he resists the urge to wolf his sandwich down and inhale his latte. Eren forced himself to slow the pace of his drinking to match Levi's own, a task which was made all the more difficult when all he could see was the other man's back.

It was a quarter to nine, and Eren had just swallowed the last bite of his sandwich when Levi slid off his stool, moving to throw out his empty plastic cup before pushing open the door and stepping out into the street. The brunet jerked shakily, torn between his urge to follow the shorter man and the guilt that he knew would eat at him if he gave in and tailed him like a common stalker.

It didn't stop him from getting up from his seat, however, taking his nearly-empty cup with him as he followed Levi to the door and stepped aside, standing by the window as he watched the shorter man turn and get swallowed up by the sea of people walking up and down the sidewalk.

When he'd lost sight of the black-haired man, Eren pulled his hood up and looped his scarf back around the lower half of his face before setting off for the bus that would take him home.

A little under an hour later, Eren unlocked the door to his flat, his mind racing busily at a hundred miles an hour. Shutting it behind him as he entered, the man began pacing the living room, innumerable thoughts and questions passing in and out of his head as he walked up and down.

It took Eren a few minutes to realize that letting all this pour in and out would do him no good, when he would probably forget ninety percent of these thoughts by lunch. He immediately turned to his computer, turning it on and pulling up his word processor to start transcribing notes. He began to down everything he'd learned in the past few days, as well as his thoughts and theories of what it all meant for him, what it meant about his chances of finding everyone else.

It took him an hour and a half to jot everything of importance down, and his head was still full of half-baked ideas when he'd saved his document and shut down the computer. Eren's heart felt light, and even though his body was still weary, the overwhelming hope he felt had his mind awake and racing.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he started when he remembered that he was supposed to ring the head of Editorial soon to let her know if he'd be working this afternoon. He nearly leapt out of his chair as he tugged his phone out his pocket, heading towards the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water as he pulled up his contacts list to put the call through.

“Hello, Janet?” he starts, before realizing the greeting on the other end of the line was just his HoD's answering message playing. “It's Eren. I'm feeling a little better now, so I'll be in the office after lunch.”

Disconnecting the call, Eren dropped his mobile onto the kitchen counter and the glass into the sink before heading towards the bathroom to shower and start getting ready for work. If he left by noon, he'd have enough time to get himself some lunch before he needed to be in the office.

A quarter to twelve found the man locking his front door and hurrying down to the carpark. Eren's mind whirred busily, ideas blurring together as he formulated a plan for tackling tomorrow morning.

 


	4. headstrong, today i've been headstrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me long enough to update, I'm sorry.

Levi stirred back to consciousness, blinking blearily as his sight slowly swam back into focus. He thought that it was colder than usual this morning.

His bedroom was gently illuminated by the milky light of the moon filtering through the condensation clinging to the windows, and the man frowned at the blinds that he'd forgotten to shut the night before. Without getting up, Levi groped across his nightstand for his phone. His fingertips brushed across the smooth metal cover and he curled them around the device, pulling it towards him and flipping it open.

6:02am.

His alarm wasn't due to go off for another half hour, and the man groaned loudly in frustration. He could have done with the extra half hour of sleep, but Levi knew that if he rolled over and fell back asleep, he wouldn't wake up until long after his alarm had gone. He took a moment to steel himself before throwing his thick blankets aside, shivering at the biting chill of the morning despite the thick sweater he'd worn to bed over his usual winter-time sleepwear.

With a grunt of reluctance, Levi pulled himself up into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He hissed as one foot just missed the slipper he was aiming for, brushing briefly instead over the cold wooden floor of his bedroom.

 _One of these days I'm going to remember to start wearing socks to sleep_ , he told himself, despite knowing that he definitely wouldn't. He hated the feel of his feet being encased tightly in fabric when he went to bed, freezing floors in the morning be damned.

Taking a deep breath as he shoved his foot vehemently into the errant slipper, Levi slid out of bed, slapping a switch to turn on the ceiling light as he trudged sleepily over to his dresser to pull out something to wear out. Quickly selecting a plain v-neck and a fresh pair of jeans, he picked through his drawers for a little longer before pulling out a cardigan as well, grabbing clean underwear and socks before leaving his room. Flicking the hall lights on, Levi padded quietly down the hallway, his slippers helping to keep his footsteps whisper-soft against the wood flooring as he made his way to the bathroom.

Since he'd woken so early, Levi allowed himself the luxury of lingering in the shower longer this morning than he normally would on any other weekday. He stood under the spray of water after he'd rinsed the suds off his head and body, unmoving as he savored the feeling of the hot water filtering through his hair and pouring down his back.

It was ten to seven when he finally opened the bathroom door, releasing out into the hallway the remnants of the steam that the fan hadn't yet vented away as he stepped out of the bathroom. He was still rubbing the last bits of dampness out of his hair, towel draped over his shoulders, as he strode down the hallway into the kitchen to make himself a quick breakfast, his drying locks dishevelled and slightly wavy from the rough treatment.

Levi had already filled the kettle and set it to boil and was setting slices of bread into the toaster when he recalled that he'd run out of tea three days before. Though he'd meant to, he hadn't yet bought a new tin of the stuff. The man hissed lowly in irritation, partly because he'd already done this stupid song and dance three days in a row, and partly because it disrupted his morning routine.

Slamming the toaster lever down harder than was necessary, Levi moved to turn the kettle off, emptying it into the sink before sliding it to the back of the counter. Replacing his teacup into the cupboard (and pointedly ignoring the monstrously ugly teaset he'd shoved on the top shelf), he grabbed a glass instead.

Juice with his breakfast again today, then.

As he pulled the juice out of the fridge, grabbing the cheese and the butter as he did, Levi told himself that he'd definitely make a detour on his way home after class later to pick up a new tin of tea. He really couldn't do without a cup of it in the mornings.

Since he'd run out, he'd been stopping by this new coffee shop on his way to campus in the mornings before his morning lectures for his morning cup of tea. The lines were long but their tea was good, and if he was being honest, he'd like to sample some of their other drinks if he wasn't so fixated on his usual morning cup of tea.

The toaster clanked loudly, jerking Levi out of his daydreaming about tea. He grabbed a butter knife and set about quickly preparing his toast. Placing his plate on the table, he moved back to the counter, tossing the used knife into the sink. He filled his glass and returned the juice, cheese, and butter to the fridge before sliding into a chair at the table.

It was difficult to eat toast without scattering crumbs everywhere, but Levi tried his best not to make a mess anyway, despite being resigned to having to wipe down the table after he finished eating. The two slices of cheese toast and the juice disappeared in less than five minutes, the used plate and glass deposited in the sink before Levi set about cleaning the dusting of breadcrumbs off the table. Once that was done, he rinsed and wrung out the used cloth before washing his breakfast dishes.

Ten minutes past seven saw Levi, hair now meticulously straightened and brushed, wrapping a scarf around his neck and pulling on a heavy jacket with a fur trimmed hood before slipping his socked feet into a pair of thick-soled brown boots. Slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder, Levi left the apartment, beginning his ten minute trek to the city for his much-needed morning cup of tea.

To tell the truth, Levi could take a bus that would take him either directly to uni or to the city, but he didn't really see the point in paying the two dollars it would cost him to bus to the city when it took the same amount of time to walk. He was more likely to shell out for the two eighty fare to get to uni if it was particularly hot out during the warmer months as it halved his travel time, but for the most part, he would rather make the twenty minute trek to campus over waiting for the bus.

The wind this morning was bitingly cold, and Levi regretted not grabbing a pair of gloves from his dresser on his way out. His fingertips were freezing even though they were shoved deep into his jacket pockets. He didn't want to turn back though, so he gritted his teeth and prepared to bear with it, pulling them out of his pockets to breathe on them and rub them together briskly in an attempt to warm them up a little.

Levi's steps were fast-paced. Soon, the single-story houses and low blocks of flats he passed started blending into taller apartment blocks and commercial buildings, the empty streets turning into busy main roads lined by shops as he walked briskly on. He was in the city now, his intended destination only a couple of blocks away.

It wasn't long until he was walking up the street that _New World Coffee Shop & Tea House_ was on, deftly dodging the passers-by streaming by him. Grumbling quietly about the crowd of people out and about on the street this early in the morning, Levi pushed open the door of _New World_ , gratefully stepping into the warmth of the shop and rubbing his hands together vigorously as the door swung shut behind him.

The line snaking from the counter was long again this morning, and he sighed as he joined the end of the queue, not expecting any less but still finding himself disappointed again nonetheless.

The man in line in front of him finally moved away from the counter and Levi took a step forward, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He looked up to find the same man who'd served him the last two times he'd come into the shop. The blond barista had been eyeing him pretty intensely as he came up to the counter, and it unnerved him a little. He had barely opened his mouth to reel off his order when the barista cut him off, speaking first.

“Levi, right?” he asked, a charming smile spreading across his face as he reached out for a fresh paper cup, sharpie already in hand and uncapped. Levi frowned, unsettled, as he watched the blond man scrawl his name in neat capitals on the side of the cup. “Shall I get you a cup of assam tea this morning, sir?”

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, the man nodded, finding himself unable to speak from surprise. The barista's bright blue eyes were intense, and despite knowing exactly what he wanted to order, he glanced instinctively up at the menu behind the blond to escape his stare. Shaking his head, Levi cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh. Can I get it hot, no milk, no sugar. Small.”

“Sure thing,” the barista responded, turning away from the counter to prepare the drink. “Your drink's been paid for, we'll get it to you shortly.”

Fumbling with his wallet to extract the dollar fifty for his tea, Levi was caught unawares by the declaration. “... What?”

“Your drink was paid for, sir, you can put your wallet away.” The blond didn't even look up at Levi's confusion as his coworker took his place at the counter. She glanced briefly at Levi with a smile as the black-haired man moved aside dumbly to let the next person step forward, his thin eyebrows creased in disbelief at this turn of events.

He was now too far from the barista who served him to ask the question that was burning on the tip of his tongue, so Levi did the next best thing.

Slapping his wallet shut, he shoved it back into the rear pocket of his pants and dug his phone out. Flipping it open, Levi's thumbs danced across the surface of the screen as he pulled up the Twitter app and started typing.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Someone prepaid for my tea this morning?
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : I appreciate being able to save the $1.50 this would have cost me, because being a shitty broke uni student is absolute crap but
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : What the actual fuck is going on?

The hiss of foam from behind the counter reminded Levi where he was as he sent the tweet, and he looked up from his phone just in time to see the blond barista fill the paper cup with his name scrawled on the side.

“Wait, who paid for it?” he finally managed to ask, slipping his phone back into his pocket as the barista turned away from the rear counter, tea in hand.

The quiet tap of the cup against the glossed wood as the man set Levi's tea down was masked by the noisy bustle of the shop, and Levi frowned. He usually bought the small size, this was a large cup, meaning someone had shelled out an extra dollar than he usually paid for his tea to get him the biggest size.

“I'm sorry sir, I can't tell you.”

“Why not?” Levi's frown deepened, but the charming smile remained on the barista's face, the blond's thick eyebrows knitting together in apology as he tipped his head once at the shorter man.

“I'm afraid I'm just not at liberty to say.”

Levi glared at the barista, narrowing his eyes to sharpen his glower, but the barista's smile didn't budge. They remained, staring at each other, for nearly a full minute before the blond man spoke up apologetically.

“I'm sorry, I really cannot tell you.” Though his tone was firm, the blond man sounded apologetic enough as he turned to move back to the main counter, but Levi thought the barista just sounded a touch more smug than he should. “Please enjoy your tea and have a pleasant day.”

With a defeated sigh, Levi reached for his tea and slunk off to find what he'd decided was his regular seat.

Dropping his bag on the floor in front of the bar stool, Levi hoisted himself up and placed the cup carefully on the table. He planted one elbow on the glossy black surface and straightened his leg out as he wrestled his phone from his pocket. Flipping the device open, he resumed tweeting furiously one-handed, curling the fingers of his other hand around the rim of his cup and lifting it to his lips.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Barista won't tell me who bought it for me either, what in the fresh hell.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Fuck him, he has weird eyebrows and a self-satisfied smirk anyway. Like he's so pleased about hiding the identity of this mysterious person.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Well, at least whoever bought the tea for me has good taste.

As Levi hit the Tweet button, he turned to look over his shoulder, glancing suspiciously at the people sitting around the shop. Was the person who bought his tea still in here? Had they left?

He quickly began to regret picking a seat that faced out into the street. His neck complained as he tried to twist his head as far as he could without having to turn at the waist.

The chirp of his phone distracted him from his inspection of the shop's patrons, and he turned back around to glance at the screen, knowing Hange was awake and online. The mention notifications popped up one after another, with nearly no delay between them, and Levi couldn't help but wonder how Hange was able to tweet so much so quickly.

> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : @jm_levi what?? that never happens when I go there what did you do
> 
> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : @jm_levi searching #missedconnections on craigslist as we speak
> 
> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : @jm_levi and to think you put off going for this long #loser

Typical Hange. Levi snorted, tapping the notification to dismiss it and to pull up the app so he could begin regaling his friend with the story of his morning.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys Are you insinuating I could have been getting free tea earlier? Because I really doubt it.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys Fuck if I know, I just went up to the counter and the fucking guy just fucking gave me a once-over and asked, "Assam?"
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys I don't remember who served me yesterday or Monday, so at first I thought it was the same fucker.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys Then the shit refused my money and said it was paid for already.

The replies sent, Levi flipped his phone shut and dropped it to the table. He took another long sip of his tea, turning again to peer at the people sitting at the tables nearest to him from under the curtain of his dark hair.

A brown-haired man with deep smudges under his green, green eyes sat at the table closest to him, staring distractedly out of the window. An asian woman was seated at the table behind him, picking delicately at a danish. On the bar stools on the opposite side of the door from him sat a tall blond man with sharp eyes and his strong nose buried in a heavy textbook.

Huffing a sharp breath out through his nose, Levi turned back to face the window. Glaring into the side of everyone's head was not going to help him find this mysterious drink benefactor any faster, there wasn't even any guarantee that they were still in the shop-- it's been nearly two hours since _New World_ opened for business this morning and this person could have come and gone half a dozen different times in that short timespan.

Besides, it was starting to hurt his neck craning it to peer around the shop, and he wouldn't be able to glare that queue at the counter into submission either anyway, even if that person was even in the line.

No matter.

“Probably a one-off thing anyway,” Levi mumbled to himself, spinning the cup idly before taking another gulp of tea. “At least I saved my dollar, I guess.”

Determinedly shoving the person who paid for his tea to the back of his mind, Levi quickly decided that he was going to head to the university library to study before his first lecture. There was a quiz in one of his Law classes the next week that was worth 20% of his grade, and he wanted to make sure to ace it.

Knocking back the rest of his tea in one gulp, the man sighed at the slow burn of heat as the warm mouthful slid down his throat, crumpling the paper cup in his fist. As he slid off the tall stool and deposited the cup into the recycling bin by the wall, Levi felt a prickle at the back of his neck, the uncomfortable feeling of having someone's eyes fixed on his person sliding down his spine. He quickly turned to the door, casting a suspicious look around the busy shop before sliding out into the crisp winter air. Try as he might, Levi saw no one staring as he left.

_Maybe I'm just being too paranoid._

He didn't catch caribbean green eyes watching his exit with thinly veiled interest as he melted into the crush of people flowing up and down the street past the coffee shop door.

Levi pushed the free tea to the back of his mind as he trudged his way to uni through the chill of the morning, immediately ceasing to remember the three dollars he'd suddenly saved this morning.

He didn't, however, remember to pick up a new tin of tea on his way home after class.

 

* * *

 

“Damnit!” Levi swore viciously, loudly slamming the kitchen cabinet shut in irritation the next morning and ignoring the groggy complaints of his flatmate from the other end of the apartment.

He didn't even bother to make himself a proper breakfast before he was flying out the front door, pausing only to snap a banana off the bunch to eat on the way to the city.

His mood was foul that morning, thanks in part to his anger at himself for forgetting to stock up on his tea as well as the resulting denial of his usual morning cup of tea, and Levi was very much aware that he was exuding a very black aura as he all but stomped his way through the city and into _New World._ As he went, he vaguely noted that the passers-by on the street were instinctively skirting this short angry man dressed in plaid and skinny jeans, but he was too irritated to pay it any mind.

The length of the line didn't assist in improving his temperament, and neither did the discovery that the insufferable asshole of a barista was working the counter again today. In fact, the sunny disposition and the charming smile that spread across the barista's face as Levi approached the counter probably blackened his mood even more. The asshole obviously recognised him, Levi could see that irritating spark of familiarity twinkle in the man's blue, blue eyes.

“Good morning, Levi,” the barista greeted him cheerfully. “Assam again today?” The shorter man glowered silently for a moment at the blond, whose smile didn't waver.

“... Is it paid for,” he finally hissed.

“Yes it is. Hot, no milk, no sugar again?” Levi's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.

“Who paid for it.” It wasn't a question, and the man's tone of voice now was nowhere in the vicinity of polite, but the barista's countenance didn't slip, even as he smiled sadly in apology.

“I'm afraid I can't tell you, I'm sorry.” His voice was firm, and he turned away with the paper cup in hand, clearly unwilling continue the conversation or to submit himself to Levi's interrogation. The shorter man continued to glare at the barista's back as if he could vaporise the blond where he stood, until the woman in line behind him coughed pointedly.

With an irritated sigh, Levi turned to wait by the pickup counter for his tea, automatically pulling his phone out of his pocket and opening up the Twitter app as he went.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Day two of free tea, got the same fucking barista as yesterday. Tried pressing him about the identity of the buyer again, but no dice.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : His stupid self-satisfied smirk pisses me off.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : And he's got a haircut like a shitty kid in grade school, can't believe an undercut this unflattering fucking exists.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Why is it always this shithead manning the counter when I go up there? There are two other baristas working mornings.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : What if the barista's the guy paying for my tea? Is this his way of hitting on me or something? Because it's not working.

It had barely been thirty seconds after Levi had flipped his phone shut and slid it back into his jeans pocket when the device vibrated and chirped against his thigh, notifying him of a mention.

He wasn't surprised to see it was Hange.

> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : wait is that the same barista I'm thinking of? I love that guy, he lets me order the weirdest shit

The tweet made Levi snort in equal parts derision and amusement– this was typical Hange, right there. He shook his head as he quickly tapped out a reply.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys I'd question your taste if I didn't already know how fucking weird it was.

The chirp of Hange's next tweet nearly made him drop his phone in surprise, and he wasn't sure whether to laugh or to frown at it.

> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : I wonder if he'll tell me who @jm_levi's admirer is if I ask

After a moment of quiet consideration, he decided not to dignify the tweet with a reply. A loud female voice calling out his name had his head snapping up as his attention was caught. His tea was ready, and he straightened up off the wall. Striding quickly to the counter, he snatched up the large paper cup and cast his gaze around the busy shop, wondering whether to sit in his usual seat, or to grab a different one where he could more easily observe the other patrons.

The decision was made for him as a copper-haired woman hopped up into his regular spot with her own cup and a plate carrying a toasted sandwich. The corner of Levi's mouth twitched.

He slid into an empty booth instead, seating himself facing a dark-haired man in a suit in the booth across from his. Pressing his shoulders up against the plush back-rest with a contented sigh, Levi dropped his messenger bag and jacket on the seat beside him.

 _Those eyes look familiar,_ Levi thought idly as he watched the man in the opposing booth tap away at the laptop before him, but be couldn't for the life of him remember where he'd seen them before. They were such a striking shade of blue-green that he was sure he shouldn't have been able to forget seeing them at all, but their owner didn't look like anyone he knew.

Shrugging internally and sipping his tea, Levi cast his gaze out the windows at the front of the shop, watching the flood of people on the street flowing by as he drank leisurely, one arm thrown across the back of the seat as his mind wandered.

He wouldn't deny that he was still incredibly curious as to who the hell spotted him his tea two days in a row, he thought as he stared down at his cup, swirling the contents gently. He wasn't even a regular, he'd only come here for the first time on Monday, so it intrigued him that he was treated to his favorite tea twice. Admittedly, he did order it the first couple of times he came, but...

Levi had pretty much just talking out his ass when he'd tweeted it, but if he was being completely serious, it would make sense if the barista was the one paying for his tea. The man narrowed his eyes, recalling that the blond _was_ the employee who had attended to him the only two times Levi had paid for his own tea.

He was also completely serious when he'd said it wasn't working as a flirting technique.

Well, if that blond asshole was the one buying him tea...

Levi glared deeply into the street as he swallowed another mouthful of tea. _We'll see how long this goes on, then,_ he decided, spinning the cup idly under his palm. _If he's going to keep paying for my tea and not owning up to it, I might as well take advantage of it._

His phone chirped, alerting him to a new tweet mention. The man was slightly disappointed to see it was just from a random follower, not from Hange.

> **Alex** _@nyoomarket_ : @jm_levi take a picture of your tea benefactor when you find them!!
> 
> **Alex** _@nyoomarket_ : @jm_levi or the barista, that works too. is he cute??

He glanced at the clock display as he thumbed the Twitter app open, there was a little over half an hour before his first class. Levi would have to get going soon.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @nyoomarket What, no, that's fucking creepy as shit.

Flipping his phone shut, he drained his cup and shrugged his jacket back on. Slinging his bag strap over his shoulder, he shoved his phone into his pocket and headed out of the shop, tossing his used cup away as he went.

He remembered to buy a new tin of tea after class, this time, but that wasn't going to stop him turning up to _New World_ in the mornings now.

The only difference was that he was going to be able to have a cup or two of hot tea _with_ his breakfast again instead of half an hour after.


	5. oh make some big jumps, big jumps; you afraid to break some bones?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So as some of you may have realised I've turned this into a series, because there is so, so much backstory and side stories that I cannot include in the main storyline, for many many reasons.
> 
> There's a list of the planned shorts on the [series page](http://archiveofourown.org/series/88168) itself and includes the characters the stories will be focusing on and where in the timeline it is. The first side story I've written for this is right [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1530203)!
> 
> Super sorry for the short chapter guys, most of the interesting things are actually happening in Levi's perspective. But I kind of wanted to give y'all a bit of an update on Eren's life as well, heh. ~~Also I mostly got caught up in other writing/drawing projects as well, oops. Too much inspiration, not enough time to write/sketch.~~

It was 5.45pm on a rainy, utterly miserable Friday evening, and Eren was driving home from work, tapping his fingers idly against his steering wheel as the outbound traffic jam had him inching slowly out of the city. As he finally turned off the highway and into the streets of the suburbs, he found his mind wandering, and that he was simultaneously dreading as well as looking forward to the weekend.

The week had seemed to go by smoothly, all things considered, but Eren was still a little on edge. What if something went catastrophically wrong? What if he pissed Levi off, or weirded him out, or alienated him somehow?

What was the protocol on talking to someone from your past life... _without_ coming off as completely crazy?

As it was, Eren couldn't prove that they were even reincarnated, that all the memories of his past life that had surfaced weren't just figments of his imagination. He didn't have anyone else from his past life, not his parents, not Mikasa, not Armin, not anyone from the 104th or the rest of the Survey Corps really. And he had no proof that they hadn't _not_ been reincarnated under different names and different appearances, after all.

His parents had told him they very nearly named him Rainer once when he was younger but decided against it because Rainer Jaeger didn't sound as nice as Eren Jaeger did. His father had once offhandedly mentioned that some of his father's ancestors got their surnames mistakenly recorded as Yeager, but that they were descended from the brother who had his surname correctly transcribed.

Eren had found, back then, that he was simultaneously glad and upset that they hadn't given him a different name. Glad because he had the chance to try and carry on from where he had left off in his past life, upset because it denied him the chance to start fresh, even if he wasn't completely free of the shackles his last life had left upon him.

Glad that he had somehow, _somehow_ , been blessed with the name that he was used to, even if he had to re-teach himself a new way to spell his surname. Glad that the face he saw in the mirror every morning was close enough to the one he was used to seeing in the mirrors in the military washrooms, even though his skin was two shades paler, even though he had to dye his hair darker to soothe the sense of wrongness his light brown hair left him with, even though his face was a smidgen longer, a touch more angular than it should have been.

Glad that if anyone from his past existed now, he was similar enough to what he was back then that it would be so, so easy to recognise him for who he was. Provided that they remembered.

And yet, he was so, _so_ upset that he was saddled with a name this close to his old one, a face this similar to his previous self's, and the same green, green eyes that people would, could recognise at a glance.

He was upset for remembering how similar he looked to his old self, he was upset that he remembered enough of his past self to act and react the exact same way, to mature the exact same way he would have had he the chance to, a thousand and two hundred years ago. The long years had mellowed out his temper now, true, but he was a man in his mid thirties. Twenty years ago, he was virtually the same teenager that he was over a thousand years in the past at the exact same age.

Eren shook his head viciously at this train of thought, forcing his concentration back on the streets before him, flexing his fingers around the steering wheel.

He was overthinking this. There was no use ruminating on the past, on what could have happened, on what may have occurred.

The weekend lay before him, and he needed to decide what he wanted to do. This Levi seemed to frequent the coffee shop, and for good reason, and Eren allowed himself a small smile at the thought. He was willing to bet that Levi would be there again on the weekend, and he hoped wholeheartedly that the other man would be there.

But at what time? Would he show up at the same time he does on the weekdays, or should Eren head in at a slightly later time? Would the evening be too late?

Eren frowned, turning into his street. There were too many thoughts swirling into his head at the moment, it was starting to give him a slight headache to try and manage them all.

Maybe some outside help was what he needed? Yeah, maybe he just needed to sound his plans out to someone, to make sure he wasn't going to be doing anything stupid.

Eren turned his car in through the apartment gates, sliding his car into his usual lot, the spot allotted to his apartment. He turned the engine off, not bothering to even get back up to the flat before he pulled his phone out of his pocket, pulling up his contacts list to select a name and hit the call button.

The dial tone went on forever, and he crossed his fingers that he'd timed it right, that he'd called just at the end of the lunch break.

His tense shoulders relaxed the moment he heard his call being picked up, sighing in relief when a familiar voice called out a slightly confused, “Hi, babe, what's up?”

“Lydia?” he tried. “You free right now, sweetheart? I think I've seen someone I used to know. Someone who was important to me when I was younger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "wrongly transcribed surname" thing actually happened in my family, hahah. My great-grandfather's family were all "Chan", but his surname was mis-recorded as "Chin". So my mother's family are all "Chin" instead of "Chan". /cue a whole bunch of chin puns


	6. and i haven't got a license but i've got a lot to say

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit guys, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update-- there was a convention a few weeks ago that I was rushing to prepare for, and then a photoshoot last weekend that I spent a week sewing like a madman for. There's actually another convention in about a month I'm supposed to be prepping for now, but I had this sitting at 3.5k words for the longest time ever when I worked on it between things and if I leave it for too long I'll lose my feel for the story hahah.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and brb while I rush costumes for the next two conventions fml. ~~Hard cosplayer life.~~

It was a quarter to midnight on a Friday, and as he tucked his blankets closer around him and idly scrolled down his strangely quiet twitter feed, Levi found himself toying with the idea of dropping by the coffee shop come morning.

He wasn't sure if his tea benefactor would be around to buy him tea on the weekend, or if that awful barista with the ridiculous eyebrows and stupid hair would be working then, but he found himself still drawn to the idea.

Of course, it helped that _New World_ served some damn good tea for fairly cheap, too.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Should I go down to the coffee shop tomorrow morning? Would this mysterious fuck buying my tea drop by on weekends?
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Well, whoever they are saved me like $5 of buying my own tea so it's not like it's a huge loss if they don't go tomorrow. I can afford tea.

Tweeting his thoughts into the void of his timeline got him nothing, no Hange bothering him about it, none of his usual followers responding even after five full minutes of restless refreshing.

Then again, it _was_ just after midnight on a Friday night-slash-Saturday morning, after all.

Locking his phone with a resigned sigh, Levi dropped it onto his nightstand and rolled over. Yawning widely, he decided that he'd sleep on the idea. He could always decide in the morning, it wasn't that important.

However, the dawn didn't bring with her any firm decisions as she broke across the horizon, and Levi awoke the next morning to find himself just as indecisive about going in to the coffee shop as he was the night before. And as he made himself breakfast, he found his mind drifting back to toy with the idea of dropping by the coffee shop again later.

It wasn't like he was too pressed for cash at the moment, anyway, he thought as he flipped the grilled cheese he was preparing on the stove, waiting for the water in the kettle to boil so he could steep his tea.

He had paid his rent on Thursday afternoon so he had some money still kicking around in his wallet to play around with. If he wasn't getting free complimentary tea today like he had over the past three days, it wasn't going to be too big a deal to shell out the dollar and fifty cents for a cup of tea... or maybe more than a cup, even, if he spent some time in there.

The man hummed thoughtfully to himself, pressing the sandwich in the pan as he finally decided that he'd make the trip out. The kettle whistled as he slid the first sandwich onto a plate, and he turned to tip some of the hot water into a waiting cup, the tea strainer already filled and set into it, before he placed two more slices of already-buttered bread into the pan.

He'd go into town once he'd eaten and washed up. It was still pretty early at barely eight on a Saturday morning, and from where he stood by the kitchen window, Levi could still see faint traces of mist curled around the houses and apartment blocks in the neighbourhood. Anyone who _wasn't him_ and had at least a couple of braincells to rub together wouldn't be up at this hour if they didn't have to be.

Texting Hange before his shower in hopes of having company in the coffee shop today had Levi surfacing empty-handed, not even bothering to read the entirety of the ridiculously long message he'd received in response about an upcoming Linguistics examination and the two Philosophy assignments due at the end of next week that were nowhere near being started, nevermind finished.

He rolled his eyes, tossing his phone back onto his bed with a loud snort after sending a brief response to that unreadable wall of text, not having expected much better of the shitty four-eyed turd anyway. Hange almost always seemed to be busy with schoolwork considering the idiot had signed up for a double major, and covered by a scholarship, no less. If Levi didn't send an invitation to hang out early enough, he was almost always guaranteed a no unless he was inviting Hange over to his apartment for food.

As he towelled his hair dry on his way back to the bathroom, Levi thought that he honestly was a little disappointed, even if he had anticipated the rejection. He really wasn't keen on the idea of being out in the city on the weekend alone, especially not if he was just going to be in a coffee shop for maybe an hour at most, just to sate his own curiosity. Having Hange there with him would have given him an excuse to be out there on the weekend considering he had no errands to run or anything after.

His phone vibrated loudly on his sheets, the sound carrying all the way down the hallway to Levi as he stood before the mirror in the bathroom, meticulously straightening his hair. He ignored the device until he had all his curls sitting flat and neat, and only after he had unplugged his hair straightener and left it on the bathroom counter to cool did he go to check on his phone.

> **FROM:** **Shitty Glasses**  
>  > _what, tonight? I'm good for dinner, will be over at 4! what're you gonna be making??_

Levi leant against the wall, tapping the fingers of his free hand idly against his bare thigh as he thought about it for a moment. What did they still have in the fridge? He could make potstickers, he felt like making those tonight. But what else?

Making his decision quickly, the man tapped out a response before tossing the phone back onto the bed to continue getting dressed.

> **TO: Shitty Glasses  
> ** > _Chicken potstickers, steamed egg and fried rice with whatever veg I've got in the fridge. There's egg tofu as well if you feel like it._

He might not have been able to get company out in the city today, but at least he did manage to wrangle a promise from Hange to be over for dinner at least, because he knew the idiot wouldn't be eating right, this stuck into schoolwork. Hange had the habit of getting too engrossed in things and forgetting the rest of the world... as well as basic human necessities.

Levi had known Hange for years now, and now that they were both at university and both living away from their families, Hange didn't have anyone aside from him to make sure the kid didn't self-destruct accidentally just from getting too enthusiastic about homework. Certainly, Levi felt like it was his responsibility to watch over Hange and make sure the stupid idiot didn't just up and die suddenly one day because the kid forgot to actually eat or sleep or something.

The thought made him sigh. Hange didn't have any other siblings, and he'd somehow found himself becoming the kid's big-brother figure over the years. It certainly didn't help that he had a bit of a rocky relationship with his own parents and siblings, and spent a lot of time over at the Hange household, to the point Mr. and Mrs. Hange started to jokingly refer to him as their son.

Quickly pulling on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a pair of clean socks, Levi carefully dug around in his dresser for something else to wear, eventually deciding on a brown v-neck shirt with long sleeves, pulling a beige cardigan over it. Grabbing a black jacket from his closet, he paused for a moment before pulling out a dark red scarf as well, folding the smaller item up to place into his bag.

Anticipating being alone later, Levi packed his laptop and class notes into his messenger bag, sliding a couple of the printouts of his required readings in as well, wrapping his laptop charger up carefully before slipping that into the side of the bag by the books. If he was going to go out just to see if he'd be getting free tea again today, he might as well do something productive with his time as well.

He wrote a note to his housemate, letting the still-sleeping man know that he was going to be out until after lunch, and that Hange would be coming over for dinner. As he penned the last line, Levi chuckled darkly to himself, knowing that if Irving had any plans for staying home tonight, they were going to be going right out the window.

On his way down the hall, the man popped into the bathroom to put away his now-cooled straightening iron into its drawer. Shutting the door behind him, he made his way into the kitchen to pin the note to the fridge, where it would be seen the moment his flatmate went to feed himself breakfast... or brunch, lunch, whatever. Irving wasn't the earliest riser on the weekend. Snorting in derision at the thought that he might even be home before the man even got out of bed today, Levi grabbed his boots and left the apartment, checking that he had his wallet and keys on him before shutting the front door silently behind him.

Stepping out of the building, Levi was immediately hit by a cold gust of wind, and he pulled his jacket closer around himself. He was suddenly glad for the scarf he'd packed in his bag, and quickly wrapped it around his neck and the lower half of his face.

Maybe he should have waited a little longer than half past nine to set out, he thought, sticking his bare hands deep into his pockets as he started off at a brisk walk. It would have been a little warmer closer to noon... but there would probably be more people there then.

He sighed in mild irritation, telling himself that the shop will be warm, and in around fifteen minutes, he would have a hot cup of tea to soothe the chill he was feeling now. Flexing his fingers in his pockets, Levi wondered if tweeting his irritation at the weather would be worth the chill in his hands.

… Yeah, anything is worth it if you got to tweet angrily about it. He gave in to temptation and pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it with a swipe of his thumbs and tapping on the twitter app.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Fucking freezing this morning. It should be illegal for it to be this fucking cold out.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Of course I'm the idiot walking to the city and freezing his balls off in January and crying about it like the loser I am.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Fuck that noise though. I'll whine all I fucking want.

The low-rise flats and houses of the suburbs soon turned into the taller apartment blocks and shoplots of the city as he passed them by, and he barely noticed the journey as he tapped furiously at the touchscreen of his phone.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of _New World_ , and he quickly pocketed his phone, pushing the door open and stepping into the welcoming warmth of the shop with a satisfied sigh. He surveyed the place quickly as he pulled the scarf from his neck, folding it and tucking it back into his bag.

Despite it being a quarter to ten (or maybe because it was a quarter to ten), the shop was fairly empty, only a few of the tables in the shop were occupied at this hour, and a lone copper-haired girl sat on one of the bar stools at the window, nursing a steaming drink in her gloved hands. There were only a couple of people standing in the line in front of the counter, the woman at the front occupied with paying for her order. The dark-haired man standing behind her though, had glanced over his shoulder, his green eyes freezing Levi in place where he stood, even as their owner turned back around to step forward in the queue.

Levi had seen that face before, he knew he had. Had that guy been in this shop before while he was in here? Those eyes looked way too familiar.

The barista's voice was enough to snap him back into the present, his smooth baritone carrying easily through the empty shop as he asked the green-eyed man, “Your usual today, sir?”

The customer's voice was low enough that Levi couldn't hear his response, only managing to catch the end of the sentence as he stepped into the line right behind him. It was just a vague-sounding, completely out of context “... for it before I leave?” that Levi didn't care enough about to try and decipher. Idly, he thought that if there was just one more customer between him and the tall brunet in front of him, Levi would not have caught even that much.

“Not a problem, sir,” replied the barista, and Levi had to fight to keep his lip from curling in distaste. It was the same blond barista who served him every single time he'd been in here. At least that answered his question of where he'd seen the green-eyed man before– he was clearly a regular, judging by the way the barista addressed him.

“Thanks,” the man in front of him replied, pulling a couple of notes out of his wallet as the blond man grabbed a paper cup and scrawled a name into the side, passing the cup to the equally blond man behind him and turning back to accept the notes from the brunet.

Levi watched the brunet's tanned fingers slip his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans as the the man stepped out of line and towards the pickup counter, and Levi took his empty spot in the queue.

The barista's grin was wide as he watched Levi approach the counter, and Levi thought to himself that the smirk looked smug.

“Good morning,” the man greeted him, and Levi grunted irritably in response. “Assam again today?”

“Nope.” Levi started to pull his wallet out as watched one of the barista's eyebrows rise in curiosity, but the man didn't say anything in response, clearly waiting for Levi to continue. “I'll have a chai. Hot, no sugar, no milk.”

“Of course, sir,” the barista responded, picking up a fresh cup and scrawling Levi's name onto it without needing to be prompted. “You can put your wallet away, it's been paid for.”

Levi wasn't as surprised as he expected to be, but he slid his wallet back into his pocket.

“I don't suppose you'll tell me anything about whoever bought me my tea today, either,” he stated drily, completely unsurprised at the barista's giant fucking shit-eating grin and the completely insincere apology that followed. He rolled his eyes regardless, ignoring the man's short bark of laughter at his reaction.

Shrugging to himself, he made his way to the pickup counter, digging his phone out of his pocket to tap madly at the screen while he waited for his tea. Mister tall, dark and green-eyed had left with his drink by then, and a quick glance around the shop found the man in a corner table, setting up a laptop plugged into a nearby powerpoint. Levi clicked his tongue in irritation, that was the last corner table near a powerpoint that wasn't already occupied, and the empty socket next to the man's laptop adaptor was the only free powerpoint left in the shop.

Oh well. He could deal with not sitting in the corner as long as he had a powerpoint to use. So Levi turned back to his phone to wait for his drink.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : There was tea.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Jesus christ who is this person.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Blond barista was there again, is there any morning that he doesn't fucking work???
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : He's just as weird with the other customers too, I think. He asked the guy in front of me if he wanted “the usual”, so.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : But I swear to god I've seen the other guy he served in here before, so maybe he's like that with regulars?
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Never thought I'd be counted on the list of regulars after like only three fucking days though, their standards must be low as shit.

His phone began buzzing with notifications after his intensive wordvomit into the app, and he didn't even have to guess who it might've been. Pulling up his mentions, he wasn't disappointed to see Hange's name pop up right at the top, snorting at the reply he'd gotten.

> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : @jm_levi you better spill at dinner tonight!!

Just as he was about to respond, he heard his name being called from behind the counter. He looked up from his phone, not bothering to lock it as he picked up his cup and responding one-handed to Hange's tweet.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys Fuck that, could have seen it all firsthand and all that bullshit if your didn't put off your journal like the turd you are.

> **Hange** _@HanjisHoneys_ : @jm_levi shhhhh I didn't think you'd read all of that

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : @HanjisHoneys I didn't.

Glancing up as he sent the tweet, Levi weaved his way between the tables and dropped his bag heavily into an empty seat at the unoccupied table beside the one the green-eyed man was seated at. Levi glimpsed the man glancing up at him as he set down his cup to dig into his bag for his laptop charger, bending to plug it into the empty socket behind both their tables.

The stranger said nothing, however, quickly returning his attention to his laptop as Levi settled into his seat, and Levi paid him no mind as he powered his own laptop up and dug his readings out of his bag, settling them on the table beside it.

He soon got stuck into his studies, poring over the pages of his notes as he sipped at his tea, and anything and everything beyond the boundaries of his table was lost to him as he studied for the 20% in-class quiz that was scheduled for the coming week.

The surprise of an empty cup when he lifted it to his lips was what finally jolted him out of his revision, and Levi frowned at the paper cup as if it had personally slighted him. Glancing up, he noticed that the shop had gotten busier. There were barely any empty tables left, and he nearly felt guilty for occupying a four-person table by himself, especially his open textbooks and notebooks took up almost the entirety of the small square table.

The sight of two other similarly occupied tables on the other end of the shop squashed any niggling hints of guilt he might have felt, however.

Looking briefly down at the empty paper cup in his left hand, Levi glanced dubiously at the long line at the counter. He wanted a fresh cup of tea, but he wasn't particularly keen on leaving his stuff alone unattended for the ten or so minutes it would probably take him to order a new drink. His stuff probably would be safe, Levi had left his belongings alone at a table at coffee shops before to stand in line for a drink, but he still disliked having to do that.

Clicking his tongue, Levi pushed his chair back and stood up. As he slid out of his seat, the sight of the man at the neighbouring table arrested his attention for a moment. Mr. Tall, Dark and Green-eyed was still there. From what little Levi could see of his laptop screen, he seemed to be composing a lengthy email. Levi cleared his throat.

“Oi,” Levi called out, repeating it a little louder when he realised the bustle of the coffeeshop was drowning out his voice, even though he stood less than a foot away from the other table. The brunet started at being addressed suddenly, staring up at Levi in a fashion that reminded the man of a guilty dog. Levi frowned a little at that, a little taken aback, before mentally shaking himself and asking what he meant to ask in the first place.

“Can you watch my stuff? I'm going to go stand in line.”

He waited only a moment for the other man's nod in response to his question before he headed towards the line and slid into place behind the last customer.

The line moved a lot slower this time, not helped in any way by some guy two spaces ahead of Levi changing his mind about five times in under a minute, to which Levi just sighed internally. The queue was long enough, he thought with a quiet click of his tongue, that the other guy could have made his mind up long before he'd reached the counter and wasted his as well as everyone else's time.

Eventually though, his turn came, and he stepped into the space the customer before him had just vacated. Levi noticed, with slight distaste that curled his lip just a hair as he approached the counter, that the damned blond barista with the stupid eyebrows had gone out of his way to be the one to be the one to serve him. One day, he was going to find out when the asshole wasn't working and come in on all those days.

“What can I get you?” The blond positively sparkled at him, and Levi could and would swear up and down for a month after that the barista's smile was less friendly and more like a smug smirk.

“Cup of chai, hot, no sugar, no milk,” he replied flatly, sliding his hand into his back pocket for his wallet on the off chance he'd have to pay for this one.

He need not have bothered. The barista just nodded, waving him off with a sunny grin as he grabbed a fresh cup to write Levi's name on. “It'll only be a moment, please wait at the counter.”

The man's tone and expression had the slight curl of Levi's lip intensifying in irritation. He was sure he disliked the guy.

More importantly, however: who was paying for all these drinks?

Levi pulled his phone out as he stepped out of the line to wait against the far wall, flicking the twitter app open, thumbs tapping quickly across the touchscreen as he composed his tweets.

> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : I was only joking when I said the other day that the barista must be the one buying my drinks.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : But it seems more and more likely that it's the truth, I swear to fucking god.
> 
> **Levi** _@jm_levi_ : Either way, I fucking hope it's not him.

Despite the length of the line he'd stood in, it didn't take very long for one of the baristas to call out his order as she set the cup down on the counter, and Levi sent his tweet as he swiped the cup off the counter and retreated to his table. The green-eyed man looked up as he approached, and Levi nodded at him as he slid back into his seat, pointedly ignoring the man's extended attention on him as Levi pulled his textbook towards him and picked up where he left off earlier.

Levi had just sunk back into his revision of his class notes when he heard the man at the next table clear his throat and pipe up.

“Hey, did anyone ever tell you that you're nearly a dead ringer for Levi Ackerman?”

Whatever he was expecting from his neighbour, it wasn't that. Levi looked up at the man.

“Captain Levi?” he asked drily, leaning back in his seat. “The soldier guy from the Titan Wars?”

He watched the man swallow and nod in confirmation, and Levi could have sworn he seemed to wilt a little under his stare. He had quite an intense stare, he'd admit that much, but for a guy who looked like he was maybe ten years older than him to cower from it? That was... interesting.

“Nah, not really,” Levi responded after a brief pause and a sip of his tea. “History wasn't my strongest subject, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't a shortass like me. I think his haircut in my textbook pictures was similar to mine, but he's got like a square face and blue eyes or some shit like that. Wouldn't say I'm a dead ringer, not by a long shot.”

The man laughed at Levi's reply, leaning back into his own chair. Levi thought he looked a little less tense and nervous now.

“I'm sorry,” the stranger apologized, green eyes glittering with mirth. “That was probably a really strange thing to ask.”

Levi snorted, giving the man a once-over before replying. “You a history buff or a professor or something?”

“Nah, not a professor,” the man responded, still grinning. “Just kind of passionate about the Titan War era, I suppose? So a bit of a history buff.”

“Fair enough,” Levi shrugged, returning his gaze to his computer, his neighbour doing the same after a brief pause. It didn't seem as though the stranger was invested in continuing the conversation, and as Levi checked the time on his toolbar, he quietly thanked his lucky stars for that. It was nearly half past noon, and he had a couple of chapters left to revise before he could call it a wrap for today and start heading home to prepare for Hange's coming over later.

When he finally left the shop a little under three hours later, swearing colorfully about the time and cursing himself for not keeping an eye on the clock, he was only barely aware that the guy with the strange history question was still seated at the table beside him, and completely unaware of the man's eyes following him as he rushed out of the store.

 

 


	7. look out to the future, but it tells you nothing, so take another breath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the delay orz I started back up at uni last month so I have been up to my neck in assignments.  
> I'm actually putting off finishing an essay right now, took a break to write the last couple of hundred words in this and finally post the damn thing up, it's been sitting at close to 4k for ages as it was.  
> Basically I'm gonna be super slow at updates and I'm sorry.
> 
> Also how the fuck do I Eren. _How the fuck do I Levi._ Jesus christ I am awful at this.

The weekend had seemed to stretch forever, and as Eren slid into his car at ten past seven on the following Monday morning, he could feel the weariness weighing at his limbs. The rumble of the engine as he started the car was comforting, and he let his vehicle idle in its lot for five minutes, the heater on full blast as his mind wandered.

Levi hadn't shown up at New World at all when he'd dropped by in the late morning on Sunday, which had been confirmed for him by the blond-haired barista that reminded him so strongly of Erwin. By the time he'd left around three in the afternoon, he still had not glimpsed the man who looked so similar to his Captain.

He had worried himself up and down that he'd been too creepy or pushy the day before, despite barely talking to the shorter man at all. Their short exchange only barely counted as a conversation, if Eren was being honest with himself.

 _There are a million possible reasons as to why Levi didn't turn up on Sunday,_ he reasoned to himself, as he shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking lot.

Maybe he had other commitments to attend to, maybe he went to church on Sundays?

Maybe something had happened-- Levi did leave in a rush on Saturday after all, and he seemed to have a lot of paperwork and reading to tackle then too. From what Eren was able to see it looked like a whole bunch of legal jargon. Maybe Levi was a laywer reading up on case studies and stuff for an upcoming... trial? Case? Were court houses even open on weekends?

Eren doubted it, but it's not like he knew the first thing about court and being a lawyer in the first place.

He sighed, knowing he shouldn't overthink this. Levi's absence on Sunday probably had nothing to do with him. Eren hadn't even talked with him much, after all.

The memory of that creased his brow as his car inched forward through the morning traffic.

“ _Wouldn't say I'm a dead ringer, not by a long shot,”_ Levi had said on Saturday.

That was a lie.

The Levi he had met looked more like the Captain he had served under than Eren _himself_ resembled his previous reincarnation, a difference that had just gotten more and more pronounced the older he'd gotten. He was a little too tall, skin a little too pale, hair a little too ashy, face a little too angular. And yet, this Levi looked like he could have stepped straight out of Eren's imagination, right out of his memories.

There were differences, yeah, Eren couldn't deny that much. This Levi looked younger than his Captain did, looked a lot less like the responsibility of being Humanity's Strongest was weighing his shoulders down. The dark shadows beneath his Captain's eyes wasn't as prominent in this Levi, who looked miles more well-rested, even despite the subtle smear of purple in the delicate pale skin beneath his ice-grey eyes.

They certainly weren't as bad as the dark smears beneath Eren's own, by far.

But he sounded exactly like his Captain had, his voice so dead-on that Eren had very nearly snapped to attention at being addressed out of the blue.

Drumming his fingers on his steering wheel at the thought as he pulled up at a red light five blocks from his workplace, Eren found himself glad he called Lydia up on Friday evening.

It was always tricky talking about his past life to anyone without sounding like he wasn't in his right mind, and though Eren hid nothing else from his fiancée, his past life and his memories were the only things he didn't share completely with her.

As it was, he wasn't sure his memories were just extremely vivid figments of his imagination, and though he had been eerily good at history in his school-going years, not everything he remembered matched up to his textbooks. He had no proof that what he was remembering was real, only many coincidental instances that could easily be explained away with family members sharing historical events with him in his youth paired with an incredibly enthusiastic imagination.

Even then, something as big or as significant as that couldn't be wholly hidden, either, so Eren shared with Lydia snippets of his past life with just enough of the details omitted that they sounded like they came from his life in the suburbs instead of in a village behind a hundred-meter tall wall, or from a life in military service.

“ _Lydia,”_ he'd said into his cellphone on Friday, his hands shaking with uncertainty even as his shoulders relaxed at hearing his fiancée's voice. _“I think I've seen someone I used to know. Someone who was very important to me when I was younger._

“ _Lydia, I don't think he recognizes me. I don't know if he remembers me._

“ _I... I'm not sure what I should do.”_

Have you talked to him, she'd asked. How long since the two of you last saw each other? If he last saw you as a child it's not unlikely that he doesn't recognise you, but if you don't talk to him you won't know if he remembers you or not.

Her brisk, patient tone calmed him. He took a deep breath, his racing mind calming as he listened to her speak.

“ _You're right. He hasn't seen me since I was a lot younger, so he probably didn't recognise me at all.”_

She had hummed quietly at his answer. You should talk to him, she'd replied. See if he remembers you. The line went silent for a few long moments while Eren thought things over.

“ _... What do I do if he doesn't?”_

What do you want to do, Eren? Lydia had asked.

He'd been silent for several long moments, running a finger idly across the curve of the steering wheel in front of him, before he was able to answer.

“ _... I don't know,”_ he replied honestly. _“I mean, I still want to be friends with him, but what if he doesn't remember me?”_

Talk to him, Eren, she had said. That's what I suggest. Talk to him and see if he remembers you. And even if he doesn't, what do you have to lose? You can still be friends whether or not he remembers you, you know.

He didn't respond, scratching idly at the rough texture of his steering wheel as he thought, and Lydia said nothing for a minute as the silence stretched between them.

Eren, she had said eventually. Darling, my lunch break is over, I have to go back to work. You think about what you want to do, and if you need me this weekend, give me a ring, alright? I'm sure whatever you do, you'll be fine.

He sure hoped Lydia was right.

He couldn't bring himself to talk to the man on Saturday until after Levi had addressed him first, and even then all he had the courage to say was literally that Levi looked the same as he did fifteen hundred years ago.

Real smooth, Eren.

He sighed as he pulled his car into his workplace parking lot at twenty-five past seven, and hopped out to head to the coffeeshop as usual. Hopefully Levi would come by today.

The usual blond barista was strangely absent when Eren stepped into _New World_ , and he faltered for a moment when he couldn't find the familiar tall figure behind the counter. Joining the long queue, Eren hoped that the man was just out of sight or in the back room, rather than not present at all.

To his dismay, the man didn't appear as he moved forward slowly in the queue, and when he finally stepped up to the counter, the blond barista was still nowhere to be seen. Unease settled in his stomach at the man's absence, and Eren very nearly forgot to glance over the establishment to check that Levi hadn't gotten in before him.

“Good morning, and welcome to _New World_ , what can I get for you today?”

The face of the dark-haired girl serving him was unfamiliar, and Eren stumbled over his words slightly as he spoke.

“I, uh. Is Alex working today?” he managed to ask, watching the flicker in the girl's expression as her smile dimmed minutely. It lasted for maybe half a second before she stretched her lips back into a bright grin.

“I'm sorry, he's off work sick today,” she replied, her voice apologetic but firm. “What can I get you today?”

“Uh. I'll have a large ice-blended caramel coffee and one ham and cheddar sandwich for now?” A small wave of embarrassment had him hesitating for a moment before he added on the second half of his order. “And, uh. A hot assam tea, large, no milk and no sugar for later. Another guy'll come in a bit. Um. Short, grey eyes, black undercut-- his name's Levi, give it to him. Tell him it's already paid for.”

The girl's eyebrows were raised questioningly as she keyed his order in, and Eren averted his eyes, rubbing his nose to hide his embarrassment as he fished his wallet out of his pocket.

“That'll be ten fifty, sir, and what name will this be under?”

“Eren,” he replied, handing over a couple of notes as she quickly scrawled his name onto a plastic cup. “And thank you.”

“Not a problem, sir,” she responded as she returned his change. “Would you like the tea prepared now?”

“Ah, no, just prepare it when he comes in to order later.”

“Sure thing. The rest of your order will be ready in just a moment.”

As he stepped off to the side of the counter to wait, Eren saw the barista jotting something down on a piece of paper before calling for the next customer. Unease roiled in his stomach as he turned to face the door, watching the people milling in and out.

It hadn't been any easier to do this the first time around, but after that, the barista-- Alex-- who served Eren that day had gone out of his way to be the one manning the cashier when Eren came to the front of the queue in his subsequent visits, saving Eren the bother of having to explain to save the tea for a later customer each time.

Actually, if Eren though about it, he was pretty sure Alex also made sure he was the one serving Levi when the shorter man came in. In fact, every single morning this past week when Eren came into the cafe, Alex was present and working, and every time he'd seen Levi at the head of the line, Alex had been at the counter.

The cafe door opened again as Eren's name was called out, and as he turned to retrieve his order from the side counter, he glimpsed Levi sliding into the shop, sidestepping a few people to join the queue.

As he stepped closer to the shorter man, Eren noted that the shadows below Levi's eyes were darker today, the purple contrasting harshly against his pale skin. The man looked more tired than he had on Saturday, and barely even noticed Eren as he brushed past with his tray, taking advantage of the patrons in the way to deliberately squeeze past Levi on his way to an empty seat.

That probably put a strike through the notion that Levi recognised him at all, and maybe one through the possibility that he remembered Eren.

Whether Eren had creeped him out thoroughly on Saturday was still questionable, however.

The thought had Eren snorting at himself as he pulled out his laptop and set it beside his tray. He glanced briefly at the queue as he turned it on, biting into his sandwich as he waited for the device to boot up.

Eren had no idea what prompted him to look up when he did, but the next time he glanced towards the counter, Levi had reached the front of the queue. From this distance, Eren couldn't hear the exchange between the grey-eyed man and the barista, but he caught on quickly when the girl nodded and began to motion in his direction.

No. Oh no.

Fuck.

No.

He dropped his sandwich, his arms rising instinctively, panic beginning to bubble in the pit of his stomach. Eren shook his head frantically, waving his hands as he tried to stop the barista from pointing him out.

Too late.

Time seemed to slow as the dark head turned towards him, and he froze in his empathic waving as sharp grey eyes settled on him.

Well, now he's done fucked it up.

Levi's never going to want to talk to him now.

He barely managed to bite back a mortified wince as his shoulders slumped, and Eren dropped his hands and turned back to his laptop as he slid down fractionally in his seat, nearly desperate enough to will the earth to open up and eat him where he sat.

Too bad it wouldn't.

Through the buzz of the busy coffeeshop, Eren was aware of someone approaching his corner booth, and his rapidly beating heart slowly inched its way into his throat as a pair of worn black boots stopped next to his table.

His heart thundered in his throat as he pretended to be preoccupied by something on his screen, ignoring the man standing at his side in complete silence. He could almost feel the stare that was surely on him, and his hands shook as he scrolled, unseeing, down the open document on his desktop.

An eon seemed to tick by, the silence stifling, before Levi spoke.

"Are you stalking me or something? You're fucking terrible at it."

Eren started at finally being addressed, looking up at the other man in surprise before what Levi had said had settled properly.

“I-I... what?”

The other man continued to stare at him, a thin eyebrow raised, and Eren could feel red blooming across his cheekbones, warmth creeping to the tips of his ears before he finally spoke again.

“You do realise that it would probably have made more sense to sit at the cafe across the road, don't you?” Levi pointed out. “That way the barista couldn't fucking out you, and you could... I don't know, watch me better because I usually sit at the fucking window if the seat's free.”

The older man couldn't help but stare blankly in disbelief for several long seconds before responding.

“That's fucking creepy,” Eren declares, frowning at how Levi's other eyebrow raises to join its partner as the younger man snorts derisively at the hypocrisy of him saying such a thing. “Why have you put so much thought into this?”

“So,” Levi starts, ignoring Eren's response completely as he slid into the seat in front of the taller man. "Why do you keep buying me tea every morning?"

Eren winced at the bluntness of the question, dragging his gaze away from the young man seated before him and back to his laptop. He could feel his ears warming in his embarassment.

Clearly Levi could see that too, and Eren was barely able to pull his fingers out of the way when pale fingertips curled over the top of his screen and snapped the computer lid shut. He blinked down at the device before looking up to meet Levi's wholly unimpressed gaze.

“I believe I asked you a question.”

“I, uh. I just noticed you like tea...” His response was miserably shallow, and Eren winced internally at how weak it came out.

“A lot of people like tea,” the other man grunted in exasperation. “Are you buying tea for every other nobody who likes tea?”

“Uh...”

"You're not even drinking tea,” Levi cut Eren off as he looked down at the taller man's cup, clearly not actually expecting Eren to reply to his previous question. "What is that ice blended frappucino bullshit, are you a teenage girl?"

The warmth in Eren's ears flared up again, and he straightened in his seat, staring down at the shorter man as Levi leaned back in his seat and propped his ankle up on his knee. He watched Levi hide a judgemental grimace behind his hand as he took a sip of his tea, subjecting the grey-eyed man to a once over.

“At least I'm not wearing plaid,” he sniped back, jerking his chin in Levi's direction. “Nice jeggings, by the way.”

Watching Levi's top lip curl in distaste at the jab from behind Captain Levi's characteristic overhand grip on the paper cup fed into Eren a sick sense of satisfaction, and he grabbed his drink to hide his own smile as hooded grey eyes narrowed in his direction.

“They're not fucking jeggings, what the fuck.” The shorter man rolled his eyes, carefully placing his tea back down on the table before he continued. “Those things are not made to have any room for your balls, I'm not interested in being hauled off for indecent exposure because I'm stupid enough to wear something thin enough that you can see the outline of my dick through it.”

Eren choked on his drink, spluttering as he felt the back of his nostrils burn as the ice-blended coffee was forcefully propelled up his esophagus. Barely managing not to cough up his drink, he heard a short bark of laughter coming from Levi's direction. He looked up to see the other man pressing the back of his hand to his nose as Levi tried to fight back his chuckles at Eren's misfortune.

Despite the ache in the back of his nose, Eren found himself smiling. He certainly wasn't expecting the shit Levi had let forth, but he definitely had missed it. His heart clenched briefly as the thought flitted across his mind, and he determinedly pushed it away, intent on not thinking about it.

“Should have known you were one of those people who's got a weird sense of humor,” Eren commented mildly, setting his drink down and rubbing at his nose briefly. “Wasn't expecting a full-on sermon on why your jeans are not jeggings, though.”

“Sorry,” the shorter man snorted as he took another sip of his tea, not sounding even a little bit apologetic. “So, were you gonna tell me why you've been buying me tea or no?”

Eren tried not to wince, but the slight twitch in his cheek seemed to be enough of an answer for Levi, and the taller man shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Levi leaned forward, planting his elbow on the table and resting his chin in the palm of his free hand.

The intensity of the man's stare was just as Eren had remembered it being, even if the eyes themselves were a paler, bluer shade of grey, closer to the shade of ice than the ash grey Eren had remembered in his Captain. Clearing his throat, Eren averted his own eyes to avoid the stare, which drew a sigh from the man across from him.

“Okay, so did you pick assam tea for a reason or what?” Eren looked up to see Levi swirling the cup in his hand idly, gaze still fixed firmly on the taller man in front of him.

“I, uh, picked at random,” Eren lied, feeling the tips of his ears heat but fighting not to fidget under the pressure of Levi's keen stare. He moved to put his laptop away, taking the chance to avoid eye contact with the other man for a moment longer. “D-do you not like assam then?”

It seemed as if Levi had sighed ten thousand times in the ten minutes they had sat together, and this one felt as if it were twice as tired and twice as exasperated in comparison to all the ones that had came before it.

“I didn't say that,” the black-haired man replied finally, once Eren was done fiddling with his laptop bag. “It's one of my favorites, actually, but wouldn't something else be a much safer guess? Something more common like... I don't know. English breakfast or some shit like that, I suppose.”

“I suppose,” Eren agreed, looking down at his half-eaten sandwich. Would it be impolite to start eating it now? “But you said assam tea is a favorite, so I suppose it worked out alright?”

Levi hummed noncommittally, taking a generous sip of tea as he leaned back in his seat. He made no move to reply, however, opting to just continue scrutinizing Eren in silence. The chatter of their fellow patrons and the buzz of the busy cafe heightened the awkwardness Eren felt in the quiet between them, and after roughly ten seconds of waiting for Levi to respond, the taller man picked his sandwich up again, taking a small bite.

“I wouldn't have turned down free tea, regardless of what it was,” Levi finally responded, taking his eyes off Eren as he set his cup down carefully on the table. “Not unless it was shittily made, or if it was too sweet or something.” He paused, tapping the rim of his cup thoughtfully a couple of times. “... Probably. I've never been treated to tea before. But I also usually don't turn down free things on principle.”

“Sorry,” Eren apologized hesitantly, still unsure of whether he was overstepping his boundaries. Of whether he was being too creepy. Resemblances to dead people aside, this man was still a literal stranger to him, and vice versa. “Do you want me to stop?”

“I just said I don't turn down free tea, man,” Levi snorted, leaning back in the seat. “I'm a broke university student, I take what I can get.”

Eren was aware that he was gawking now, but he found it difficult to wipe the surprised expression from his face at the information. The unimpressed glare Levi had settled on him, however, helped jerk him out of his shock, and he shook his head once in an attempt to clear it and focus back on the conversation.

“You're only in university?” he managed, once he'd figuratively picked his jaw up off the floor. He set the sandwich back down on its plate, frowning. “You don't really look it...”

“I should keep you around, normally I get people asking what high school I go to,” Levi replied drily, grimacing at the thought. “I'm doing my Masters now, actually, but I suppose my height does me no fucking favors.”

“So that makes you... 23? 24?” Eren guessed. “Man, I'm really sorry, but I thought you were a little older.”

“21, actually,” Levi corrected him, grabbing his cup again to sip at his tea. “I turn 22 in a month. And I suppose I would take offense to that if there were less people assuming I haven't even graduated high school yet. So I guess I'm kind of flattered.”

The comment drew a chuckle out of the older man, and he leaned back in his chair. It was then that Eren glanced up at the clock behind the counter.

8:25 AM.

Oh fuck.

“I'm sorry, I have to get going or I'll be late for work,” Eren remarked quickly, just as Levi was about to say something. He stood up hastily, fumbling for his wallet and pulling out one of his business cards. Fishing a pen out of his pocket, he scrawled his cellphone number on the back and placed it on the table in front of Levi. “I'd really like to talk to you more when we're both free next, let me know if you'll be in the city around noon today or whenever. Text my mobile, number's on the back of the card. I'll shout you lunch or something for the trouble.”

He didn't wait for a response, practically flying out the door in his haste.

As Eren made his way back up the street, weaving through the morning crowd on the sidewalk, he thought that he didn't really want to wait for a response, for the inevitable rejection that would have come from such a meeting.

Stupid, he chided himself.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. You could have handled that so much better.

He's going to think you're a dirty old pervert only after his ass after today.

God fucking damn it, Eren.

In his rush to leave, he missed seeing Levi watching him exit with his chin in his hand and an eyebrow raised, missed seeing him slide his phone out of his pocket to pull up Twitter and tap at the screen for several solid minutes. Missed Levi scrutinizing Eren's name card as he thought it over.

Missed Levi finally deciding to pick the card up and slide it into his pocket, before getting up and leaving the cafe himself.

The remainder of Eren's sandwich lay, forgotten, on the table.

 


End file.
